Related terms

Translations

French

Pronunciation

Noun

A cadastre (also spelled cadaster) is a
comprehensive register of the real property
of a country, and commonly includes details of the ownership, the tenure, the precise location (some can include
GPS
coordinates), the dimensions (and area), the cultivations if rural
and the value of
individual parcels of land.

The word came into English
by way of French
and Italian,
variously attributed to the Late Latin
capitastrum, a register of the poll tax, and
the Greek
κατάστιχον [katastikhon], a list or register, from κατά στίχον
[kata stikhon], literally, "down the line", in the sense of "line
by line."

Cadastral surveys are used to document land
ownership, by the production of documents, diagrams, sketches,
plans (plats in USA),
charts, and maps. They were originally used to ensure reliable
facts for land valuation and taxation. An example from early
England is
the Domesday
Book. Napoleon
established a comprehensive cadastral system for France which is
regarded as the fore-runner
of most modern versions. Cadastral survey information is often a
base element in Geographic/Land Information systems used to assess
and manage land and built infrastructure. Such systems are also
employed on a variety of other tasks, for example, to track
long-term changes over time for geological or ecological studies,
where land tenure is a significant part of the senario.

A cadastral map is a map showing the boundaries and
ownership of land parcels. Some cadastral maps show additional
details, such as survey district names, unique identifying numbers
for parcels, Certificate of Title numbers, positions of existing
structures, section and/or lot numbers and their respective areas,
adjoining and adjacent street names, selected boundary dimensions
and references to prior maps.

In most countries legal systems have developed
around the original administrative systems and use the cadastre as
a means of defining the dimensions and location of land parcels
described in legal documentation. This leads to the use of the
cadastre as a fundamental source of data in disputes and lawsuits between
landowners.

In the United
States, Cadastral Survey within the
Bureau of Land Management is responsible for maintaining
records of all public lands. Such surveys often required detailed
investigation of the history of land use, legal accounts and other
documents.